New Bike

For at least a year now, Matthew has needed a new bike. I'm embarrassed to even admit that he has been riding on a 12" bike up until today. We are obviously negligent.

I had causally looked into bikes but I was hesitant to get him a new bike in the heart of winter. So, with some signs of Spring (Matthew is quick to mention that it is already technically Spring, but I gauge spring by the thermometer, not the calendar) and Easter coming up, I was finally able to commit. We ordered the bike last week from REI (thank you dividend and 20% coupon) and it was ready for pickup this week. So, we made an adventure out of it.

We went to REI on the premise of buying summer sandals for the boys, but I also told Matthew that we would be picking up a surprise for him too. I do realize the irony in my hesitation to buy a bike during early spring, while at the same time anxiously purchasing summer sandals. But Seattle's socks and sandal culture provides perfect validation for this little eccentricity of mine.

The boys quickly picked out and tried on their sandals and we played briefly at the treehouse before Matthew was ready for the unveiling. It wasn't until we were in the bike shop that Matthew finally clued in on the surprise. He then promptly commented, "I wish it was something else." Thankfully, once he actually saw the bike he was pretty excited.

We rounded out the adventure by eating lunch with Jon downtown.

Of course, the weather turned sour by the time we made it home with the bike and we also ran into some trouble applying training wheels, but we eventually did get some pictures of Matthew on his new wheels. He is adjusting well to the bigger bike and is loving how fast he can go! So much so, that he made a game out of avoiding having his picture taken. For each of these pictures there are about 10 others that I had to snap before and after. Thank you digital camera! Seth was more cooperative; of course he's also seat-belted in and he can't pedal yet. Too bad that doesn't last forever.

I love that Matthew felt it prudent to put his coat hood under his bike helmet in case of rain, yet he didn't feel the need to zip up his jacket. I guess this shouldn't be too surprising from a boy that is also wearing socks with sandals.

He can almost reach!